marvelfandomcom-20200222-history
Hercules (Earth-616)
Real Name: Alceus (birth name); Heracles Nicknames The Lion of Olympus, Prince of Power Aliases: Hercules (Romanization of his Greek name), Harry Cleese, Victor Tegler, Agent 74 Status Occupation: Occupation unknown Legal status: Legal status unknown Identity: Secret Marital status: Marital status unknown Affiliations: Olympia Corp., Avengers; formerly Champions of Los Angeles, Argonauts, Defenders, Heroes for Hire, Olympian Pantheon as God of Strength, Damage Control Base of operations: Base of operations unknown Origin Place of birth: Thebes, Greece Known relatives: Zeus (father), Alcmena (mother, deceased), Gaea (great-grandmother), Ouranos (great-grandfather), Cronus (grandfather), Rhea (grandmother), Amphitryon (step-father, deceased), Pylius (adoptive father, deceased), Licymnius (uncle, deceased), Poseidon, Hades (uncles), Electryon (maternal grandfather, deceased), Hera, Demeter, Hestia (aunts), Ares, Apollo, Dionysus, Hermes, Hephaestus (half-brothers), Iphicles (half-brother, deceased), Argeius, Melas, Oenonus (cousins, deceased), Aphrodite, Pallas Athena, Artemis, Eileithyia, Helen, Discord, Iris, Persephone, Pandia (half-sisters), Megaera (first wife, deceased), Deianeira (second wife, deceased), Hebe (half-sister/third wife, separated), Iolaus (nephew, deceased), Eurystheus (cousin, deceased), Macaria (daughter, deceased), Alexiares, Anicetus (sons by Hebe), Telephus (son by Auge, deceased), Hyllus (son by Deianeira, deceased), Ctessipus (son by Deidameia, deceased), Lamus (son by Omphale, deceased), Cleodaius (son by unknown servant girl, deceased), Tlepolemus (son by Astyoche, deceased), Scythes, Gelonus, Agathyrsus (sons by unknown priestess, deceased), Celtus (son by Celtina, deceased), Fifty unnamed sons by the fifty daughters of King Thespius (all deceased), Hylas (foster son, deceased); Argos, Arimathes (alternate future sons), Bombshell (alternate future daughter), Perseus, Pelops, Tantalus, Lynceus, Epaphus (ancestors, deceased) First appearance: Journey Into Mystery Annual #1 History Hercules had many notable adventures in ancient times. He sailed with the Argonauts (with them he may have battled the Akaana), faced the Hydra, saw the death of Medusa, defeated Antaeus, and had his twelve labors. Deianeira, Hercules' wife, was fooled into bringing about her husband's death due to the schemes of the centaur Nessus. Nessus had attacked her while carrying her across a river, and was shot with an arrow. Knowing the Hydra's poison would be in it, he told her his blood would act as a love charm. She placed it in a cloak. When Hercules put it on, he began to burn. Deianeira took her own life as she realized what had happened. Seemingly unable to die, he built a funeral pyre, and was struck by Zeus's thunderbolt. Now a full god, he took his place as god of strength. In an attempt to reconcile with Hera, he married Hebe. However, like his father, Hercules is a notorious ladies' man. This is compounded with a curse of Hera's that threatens any mortal woman he becomes too involved with. Later, he led time-travelling soldiers against Vikings, bringing him into conflict with Thor. In modern times as heroes began to appear Hercules joined them as a member of the Avengers and Champions. Hercules considered Thor both a great ally and a rival. They fought alongside many times against many foes. While he hopes Thor and Asgard will return eventually, he is angry that their disappearance was largely forgotten in light of the Scarlet Witch's insanity. To reaffirm himself, he accepted a challenge of completing a more modern 12 Labors, which included capturing a Doombot and grounding the SHIELD Helicarrier. Additional History by Unofficial Handbook Website Hercules is the son of Zeus, king of the Olympian gods, and Alcmene. Zeus seduced Alcmena in the guise of her husband, King Amphitryon of Troezen. Thanks to Zeus's enchantment, Hercules was born with the potential for extraordinary strength, which he first displayed before he was even one year old by strangling two serpents which attacked him. As an adult, Hercules is best known for his celebrated Twelve Labors, which were performed in part to prove his worthiness for immortality to Zeus. (One of these Labors, the cleansing of the Augean Stables, was actually performed by the Eternal called the Forgotten One, who was sometimes mistaken for Hercules.) In the course of these Labors, Hercules provoked the wrath of three immortals who remain his enemies to this day. By slaughtering the man-eating Stymphalian Birds, he enraged the war god Ares, to whom they were sacred. In temporarily capturing Cerberus, the three-headed hound that serves as guardian to the Olympian underworld, Hercules offended Pluto, the lord of that realm. By killing the Nemean Lion, the Hydra and other creatures spawned by the inconceivably grotesque and powerful monster Typhoeus, Hercules gained the bitter enmity of Typhon, the immortal humanoid offspring of Typhoeus and a Titaness. However, it was the centaur Nessus who caused Hercules' mortal demise. Nessus kidnapped Hercules' wife Deianeira, whereupon Hercules shot him with an arrow. Feigning a wish to make amends, the dying centaur told Deianeira how to make a love charm from his allegedly enchanted blood, aware that it was now tainted with the lethal poison of the Hydra, in which Hercules had dipped his arrows. Some time after Nessus' death, Deianeira, distraught over her husband's latest infidelity, rubbed the supposed love charm into Hercules' shirt. Zeus then intervened, consuming the pyre with his thunderbolts and bringing Hercules to Olympus to be made a true immortal. In recent years, the Asgardian witch called the Enchantress hoped to gain revenge on her enemies, the hero team Avengers. She mesmerized Hercules and set him to attack the team, but the Avenger Hawkeye managed to free him from his thrall and the Enchantress was routed. However, Hercules was exiled from Olympus by Zeus as punishment for his unauthorized excursion to Earth. The Avengers housed Hercules as their guest for months, and he often assisted them in their adventures. He was eventually made an official member of the team, but he returned to Olympus with the Avengers to rescue the other Olympians from the vengeful Typhon. Afterward, Hercules elected to remain on Olympus with Zeus's blessing. Later, the Olympian god Ares hoped to incite war among Olympus and Asgard, and eventually Earth. Ares turned all the Olympian gods to crystal, and, as Hercules was unaffected by being only half-god, Ares' agents beat him severely and abandoned him on Earth. Hercules remained amnesiac for many weeks, until he was discovered by Hawkeye and returned to the Avengers. With the Avengers' aid, the plot was uncovered and Ares was stopped. Hercules and his teammate, the Asgardian god Thor, sealed the access to both worlds. Hercules continued to occasionally interact with Earth, as was the case with his brief membership in the super-team called the Champions. He also kept in touch with the Avengers, assisting them against menaces such as Korvac the Enemy. Eventually, Hercules rejoined the Avengers on a full-time basis. When the Avengers' mansion headquarters was invaded by Baron Helmut Zemo's Masters of Evil, Hercules was beaten so severely by a contingent of Masters that he was left near death, in a coma. Zeus arranged for Hercules to be returned to Olympus, and in revenge, ordered the imprisonment of the Avengers in Hades. The Avengers escaped to confront Zeus directly, but they were saved only by the intervention of Hercules, who had made a recovery and convinced his father the Avengers were not to blame. Nevertheless, Zeus ordered that Hercules remain in Olympus forever. It was not long, however, until Hercules disobeyed his father, returning to Earth when the Avengers required help against the villainous High Evolutionary, who misguidedly hoped to forcibly jumpstart humankind's evolution. In the final battle, Hercules was attached to a machine that would "evolve" him to a superior state than the Evolutionary. Instead, the device jumpstarted the Evolutionary's physiology as well, evolving both to a state beyond godhood, and the two dissipated from Earth's plane. In reality, the two were captured by the enigmatic beings known as the Celestials and held prisoner in the so-called Black Galaxy. Thor and his friend, Eric Masterson, discovered their fate during an adventure at the High Evolutionary's citadel, Wundagore. Both Masterson and Thor helped rescue the two, and Hercules, Thor, and Masterson returned to Earth, while the High Evolutionary turned Wundagore into a spaceship and returned to the Black Galaxy. Hercules, Thor, and Masterson were then viciously attacked by Mongoose using weapons he had stolen from Wundagore. Mongoose almost killed Thor using a powerful energy beam. Masterson took a killing blow for Thor, giving Thor and Hercules a chance to defeat Mongoose. Unfortunately, Masterson was dying from his wounds, which led Thor and Masterson to be merged together. Hercules remained on hand to help his friends, and he would also return to the Avengers shortly afterwards, becoming an active reserve member during the UN reorganization of the team. Hercules returned to full-time active duty during a disappearance of Thor. Hercules was soon confronted by Zeus, and they had a falling out over Hercules' apparent preference for the mortal world. Punishing his son, Zeus stripped him of his immortality and much of his godly power, exiling him once more. The traumatized Hercules drew emotional support from the Avengers, especially Deathcry, whom he later aided in returning to her alien Shi'ar homeworld. On returning to Earth, though, Hercules discovered to his horror that most of the Avengers were missing and presumed dead after their battle with the psychic menace of Onslaught. A despairing Hercules succumbed to alcoholism and was no help in trying to hold together the group, which soon disbanded. Hercules began to wander in search of new adventures, serving briefly with the corporate super-team Heroes for Hire. When the supposedly dead Avengers returned from their Onslaught disappearance, Hercules joined many of the other Avengers in reorganizing the team, though he has opted to remain an inactive member rather than rejoining the active roster. Also during this time, Hercules sought out one of those responsible for his coma, the villain Goliath who had become the hero Atlas. The resulting battle was cut short by Hawkeye, who convinced Hercules to stand down, at the cost of the two's friendship. Hercules continues to aid the Avengers on an as-needed basis, such as helping them against the villainous Exemplars and when the time-travelling Kang nearly conquered the world. Characteristics Height: 6'6" (198 cm) Weight: 325 lbs (147 kg) Eyes: Blue Hair: Brown Unusual Features: None Powers Superhuman Strength: Hercules' principal power his his vast physical strength. He is the physically strongest of all Olympians. He has been observed lifting and hurling a giant Sequoia tree, carrying a starship across his back and shoulders, and, on one occassion, towing the entire island of Manhattan back to its original location. Hence, he is capable of lifting far in excess of 100 tons. Superhuman Leaping: Hercules' great strength also extends to his powerful leg muscles, allowing him to jump great distances and heights. While the exact limit is unknown, he is capable of easily leaping a height of 100 feet. Superhuman Stamina: Hercules' highly advanced musculature produces almost no fatigue toxins, granting him almost limitless physical stamina in all activities. Superhuman Durability: Hercules is highly resistant to physcial injury. He is capable of withstanding high caliber bullets, falls from great heights, powerful energy blasts, and extreme temperatures and pressures without sustaining injury. He is also capable of surviving, unprotected, in the vacuum of space for a brief period of time. His resistance to injury surpasses that of any otehr Olympian god with the exceptions of Pluto and Zeus. Immortality *'Regenerative Healing Factor:' Despite his great reslilience, it is possible to injure Hercules. However, like all members of his race, he is capable of recovering from injuries with superhuman speed and efficiency. However, he is unable to regenerate missing limbs or organs and would require magical assistance to do so. Hercules is also immune to all known Earthly diseases and infections. He is highly resistant to most drugs and toxins but can be affected if exposed to great quantities. *'Suspended Aging:' Like all members of his race, Hercules is immune to the effects of aging and has not aged since reaching adulthood. Despite being thousands of years old, Hercules possesses the appearance vitality of a man in his physical prime. Abilities: Hercules is an excellent hand to hand combatant and is a particularly excellent Greco-Roman wrestler. Hercules is highly skilled, and experienced, with all forms of weaponry used in ancient Greece. Miscellaneous Weapons: Golden Mace; formerly a wooden club and a bow with arrows dipped in Hydra blood. Hercules has refused to use his bow after the incident with Nessus. Equipment Avengers Identicard Notes * Character created by: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. * The Labors of Hercules from Greek Mythology. The goddess Hera, determined to make trouble for Hercules, made him lose his mind. In a confused and angry state, he killed his own wife and children. When he awakened from his "temporary insanity," Hercules was shocked and upset by what he had done. He prayed to the god Apollo for guidance, and the god's oracle told him he would have to serve Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years, in punishment for the murders. As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve Labors, feats so difficult that they seemed impossible. Fortunately, Hercules had the help of Hermes and Athena, sympathetic deities who showed up when he really needed help. By the end of these Labors, Hercules was, without a doubt, Greece's greatest hero. His struggles made Hercules the perfect embodiment of an idea the Greeks called "pathos", the experience of virtuous struggle and suffering which would lead to fame and, in Hercules' case, immortality. See Also * Character Gallery: * Appearances of * Quotations by References * The Unofficial Handbook to the Marvel Universe * Hercules at the Guide to the Mythological Universe ---- Category:Characters Category:Good Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Avengers members Category:Deities Category:Male Characters Category:Olympian Characters Category:Champions of Los Angeles members Category:Defenders members Category:Copy Edit